Mr. Aidan O'Driscoll:

It is a bit difficult for me to track down everything because these are, by and large, very old cases. I am aware of at least one of the Deputy's interlocutors who went to one of our senior staff and who could have been described as having made an appeal. He directly contacted one of the most senior vets in the Department, which could be regarded as an appeal. It was investigated by that senior vet and dismissed. The individual did not really go through the process but it could reasonably be regarded as an appeal. I do not know who goes to the Ombudsman unless the Ombudsman contacts us and looks for evidence but in the cases in front of the Deputy - she mentioned Mr. Fannin - we found nothing in our complaints or Ombudsman folders. We have found FOIs on that and a data protection case. In the case of another case involving a pig farmer, there are no files in our complaints or Ombudsman folders from him. In the case of another gentleman, no files were found in the complaints or Ombudsman folders. The same is true in other cases and the last one. It is very fair to say that they have not used the system.